Method of molding brick shapes and the like



c. L NORTON, METHOD OFMOLDING BRICK SHAPES AND THE LIKE.

L D FEB 11. 1922. 2 SHEETS'SHEET I lan i); 1923. 1,441,367

C- L. NORTON. METHOD OF MOLDING BRICK SHAPES AND TH Jan. 9, 123.

E LIKE.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2 F1 LED F55 I I I922.

19 lilllifflr PC.

I is-intended for service in particular with Patent data. 9, 1923.

f CHAR-LES- L. non Ton, or NEWTON, iiiissiaorrnsnrrs;.essienoalrolnnrnac'rcnins conrona'r on or PENNSYLVANIA.

MACHINERY" MANUFACTURING; COMPANY,

,c or PITTSBURGH, rnnnsY vANiA, A

Mmiioip or MOLDiNG-BRICK snares Ania IiI-ZE LIKE.

' such materials as ground ganister and hard clays, which areunresponsive to molding- 7 0nd day of hlarch, 1920, it is pointed outqiiietho'ds adapted to more plastic materials. ln myLetters Patentoi theUnited States, Nos. 1,332,676 and 13325677, dated thes'ecthat'suchqnaterials asgi'o ind ganister can "be molded lin -projecting; asby dropping, a charge Oli the niaterialunder such conditions that onarrival at the mold its particles are arranged in a dense swarm, 'in.ivliich each particle is free from contact .with its neighbors to suchan extent that, "though it benarrowly limitechthis freedom enables theparticles to move in relation to i each other and fill the mold; intoWhich they tall with force and emphasis. In applica tionsnfor UnitedStates Letters Patentfiled by nm on the twenty-fourth day of May,

1921, Serial Nos. 472,244, and l72,245, it is further explained that thecompleteness with which a mold is filled by the mode described in theaforesaid patents" is more fully as .zcSHI'C-BCl, if the mold-chargeliberated from an elevatecl hopper is slightlysmaller in hori :tzontalprofile than the mouthof the mold i which the charge'is: to fill; sothatparticles oi material marginal in the'descending charge will not bearrested and deflected from a straight trajectory into the mold. In thesaid applications it is explained also,

that the conditio'nsfavorable for complete and accurate mold-filling'bymaterialof the .ugritty and refractory chai'acter'under consideration,both as set forth in my. said patents and in the said applicatio is..arestill tin-theiensured. ii't-he support, both vertical ,particles'forming the charge of material While it rests in the hopper; beWithdrawn and. lateral, afforded tov the aggregatefof simultaneously andabruptly," so that the "shape of the charge; imparted to it by the" Ihopper acting as amatrix, shalljbe unaltered as little as possible.And,fnftheryit isfexplained in my said' application that, particularlyfor the purpose offilling large'and irregularly shaped'molds, it isadvantageous to give the hopper, and therefore its charge, a downwardlypointing Wedge-shape, sothat thecharge will enter the mouth of the mold,strike the bottom*thereof,first; and scatter explosively in all"directions.

t maybe noted here," that demonstrations and investigations made"subsequently to the filing of my said applications have shown thataaver acutely pointed falling charge 01 materiahwhile well adapted-tocomplete mold-filling, is liable to fprove over-efficient,

in that the, emphasis or its initial impact stripsthe inoldsurface ofthe light sandcoating vith Which it is usually prepared, anddrives'thesand nto the lateral regions "or recesses oftlie moldfscouringparts of the IDOlCl surface bare, so tliat thebrick shape is liable tostick there and be injured when removed from the mold. Thevialues,

shaped mold cliargefiare conserved, and the incidental disadvantage ofthe acute edgeshape removed, by blunting the lower end "oi the hopper,andtherefo're of the charges,

or, in some-cases by providing the bottom of the hopper With a shapeWhich produces tvvo'or more salient points, thus distributing the-impactand suppressing the scouring action. I

cremental and supplemental to thoseabove l-briefly outlined. It'sobjects are to erfect,

as .far as possible, the liberation" ofthe charge from-"the hopperwithout derangeand the principle ofoperation, of the wedge-f i I Theinvention 'herein described' is inment of its shape to adjust, (withgreateri nicety than l as'heretobefore been possible, the degreeofdispersion of the material constitiiting a nioldchargef'at the instantof entering the mold, and toprovide means for "increasing or decreasingthe velocity of a mold charge as it enters the mold; and to reconcilelow dispersion'with high velocity.

Thedoniinant idea Which is exemplified by several specificvariations ofapp'aratusand mode of operation-in common, is: to causehopper,allowingthe released charge to continue its course into the mold. Theopening of the hopper and the arrest of its fall may besuccessive*or'simultaneous'; for'som'e purposes it appears to. bepreferable to open the hopper While it and the charge are ac.-

celerating as one, and are, relative1y to each 15- other, at rest,sothat the opening movement :lS- accompanied. practically no relativemovementbetween.these two: objects in the gravitational direction; forother purposes it is efl'ectivetd arrest the hopper and cause the force,exerted the moving charge itself to open the. hopper, insuch. casepossibly deranging to some; extent the shape imparteda: to tlie chargeby the hopper, but producing ai jet of material from it which for some Inold shapes, Works well, provided the hopper be arrested fairly close tothe mold In other cases,especially where widemouthed; molds of simple;shape are to be filled, the: arrestofthe hopper and its opening movementmay beeffected sinniltaneouslly and'with good. result.

l/Vhile, the fierce, of gravity constitutes effective means forimparting the desired veloclty of movement to the charge, it iscontemplated that, under some circumstances, as when using certainmaterials or mold shapes, it may be found desirable. to employ someforce other than gravity for producing the proper relative movementbetween the mold and. the charge, from; which it follows that the'movement of the charge need not necessarilybe in a vertical directi'onor even that the absolute movement of the charge be at all. considerableas compared wi tl that which may be imparted to the mold;

In the drawings hereto annexed, which illustrate my invention, andawhich show apparatus stripped of structural and contributoryaccessoriesas much as possible for the; sake of exhibiting. clearly theparts which are representative of the operating factors within-myinvention.

Figure 1 is a View in elevation (partly broken away)" oi? a simpleapparatus;

Figure 2 is a side view of the same; Figure 3 is a plan view-of thesame; Figure 4. is an end elevation of amore elaborate apparatus;

Figure 5 is a side elevation of the same; and

Figure 6 is an end view of a modification. Figure *Z is a sectionalhopper. of Figs. 4:, 5' and 6.

Referring to Figs. 1, 2 and 3: .A container hopper falls.v

planview of the or hopper H, consisting of an open ended box, isattached to a drop-board B. Clips C, C,.hold the. drop board 13insliding relation with theFSllClBS S, S. A movable latch, P, holds thehopper H in its upper position. The hopper bottom is closed by aswinging gate G, hinged at an edge-at D, and-held closed by'the catch K,whichis mounted on a lea-f spring L, secured to'the side of the hopperH.v An arm, Afprojects from the gate G, and" spring R, secured to thisarm and to the side of. the hopper strains the gate to open.

At a determined, point below the upper position of the hopper thereismounted the cam K which is in place to engage the thumb K (Fig. 35);.oncatch, K and draw the catch from under the gate G,as the;

A spring-abutment E, E,

E is secured insuch position that) it will arrest the hopper board B andtherefore the hopper, after the catch K has released gate G, and.allowed spring R to jerk. it open. Below this abutment the mold M is.placed.

The container or hopper H, l'atchediin its upper position, and with gateG caught closed, is filled'witha mold-charge of granular material.;Latch. P is then Withdrawn,

and the charged hopper, falls, until catch K is drawn by cam K when thegate G snaps open. The charge does not tall out I oi? the hopper at thisinstant v since hopper and charge are falling together. But pres-- entlythe hopper board strikes the spring abutment. at E, the hopper isarrested, and

.thehopper chargeO (Fig. 2) shoots clownqward out of the hopper and intothemoldf M.

Supposeitv were desired toproject a charge of; material into a mold at.the velocity which would be attained after a vertic2111; si alli of onehundred feet. (This is a. purposely extreme and probably impracticablecase, butisexaggerated for purposes'of" illustration.) If a charge ofgranulated ganister were released at such a height, the

/ particles, even if guided by a chute or tube,

would' on arrival at the mold be so scattered :that the mold would notbe filled. But, by

protecting the charge, and conserving its shapewand the closeaggregation of its particles, by means of a hopper: which falls with:it, the desired extreme velocity can be acquired, and the chargereleased from the I hopper so close to the mold 'that its particlesQarrivezin thedesired dense swarm.

. It will no be obvious that a Widerange of adjustments of conditions ismade possible by the use of apparatus characterized by" the factorsabove described in a very simple example. The slides S may be of-anyheight desired. The releasing cam K may .be

placed at any point between the abutment E, "E4, E and the. upperlodgnient of the hopper. The abutment E, E. E mav be spaced as desiredin relation to the releasing cam K or the mold M, or both. A. selectedvelocity, at the instant of release from the hopper, will afford anydesired degree of envelope of-the hopper, and, byselecting the a heightof the starting point of the hopper,

any desired emphasis of impact by the charge upon the mold surfaces canbe secured. 1 a i ith the foregoing explanationof the apparatus shown inFigures 1, 2 and 3, in the readers mind, a very brief description ofFigs. l, 5 and 6 will suflice.

In Figs. 5 and 6, there is shown a falling hopper with mechanicaladjuncts which open and arrest the hopper smultaneously. The hopper isof the clam shell type, composed of two similar halves 1, 1, eachpivoted by a pin 6 on a frame 2; each also carries a pin 7. Pins 6 and 7travel in slides 3,'and, when the two pins of each half of the hopperare in the straight vertical portions of the slides, the hopper will beclosed. Each slide diverges at the bottom, at 5. A spring 8 isstretchedbetween pins 7, 7 A spring abutment at 9 may be provided, tobeencountered by the projecting ledge of the frame 2. The mold M is placedbelow the hopper. The hopper is shown in full lines in both its upperand lower positions.

The container or hopper being held in its elevated position, it ischarged with material, and allowed to fall. Hopper and charge falltogether and exert no force on each other (appreciably) during theirfall. When pins 7 reach the divergent portions 5 of the slides, thehalves of the hopper are opened, and the charge 0 released. Sprin O 8cushions the shock of the hopper,

spring abutment 9 contributes to this cushioning effect. The cushioningsprings should be so adjusted that the mechanism of the hopper shall notbe unduly wrenched ly its arrest.

Any variety of hoisting mechanism may be employed to restore the hopperto its elevated position. The cycle of operations will resemble that ofa pile-driver.

Referring now to Fig. 6; the hopper is here again of the clam-shelltype, but deep, with a pointed nose. Its two halves 11, 11 are pivotedon pins 13, 13, to a frame 12, and are held together by a spring 15, thefunction of which is, chiefly, to hold the hopper closed while it isfilled, and during its descent. Slides 14. guide the hopper by means ofthe pins 13, which run in the slides. will arrest the frame 12 andtherefore the hopper.

The container or hopper 11, 11, being held elevated, it 'is charged withmaterial, and let fall. ll hen the hopper is arrested An abutment 16 isplaced where it by the abutment 16, the momentum of the charge pushesaside the pivoted halves of the hopper against the stress of the spring15, and shoots it in a jetto and into the mold M- The ac )aratus abovedescribed is the subect matter of claim in an application for UnitedStates patent, filed by me concurrently herewith, serially numbered335,782.

Iclaim: 1. That method of forming molded shapes which comprisesprojecting a dense swarm of discrete particles toward an open mold.

cavity, positively confining said swarm of particles within definitebounds during the early portion of its path of movement, and relievingthe mass from such confinement prior to its entrance into the moldcavity.

2. That method of forming molded shapes which comprises impelling a massof discrete particles toward an open mold cavity while restraining theseveral particles against substantial relative movement, and suddenlyrelieving said particles of such re straint at a determinate distancefrom the mold cavity.

3. That method of forming molded shapes which comprises confining amold-charge both laterally and vertically, moving such mold-charge,while so confined, toward an open mold, releasing such charge fromconfinement, both lateral and vertical, without substantially decreasingits velocity of movement, and permitting the unconfined charge to enterthe mold.

l. That process of forming molded shapes which comprises associating amultitude of discrete particles to form an aggregate of definite shape,projecting such aggregate toward an open mold while positivelyrestraining such aggregate from substantial deformation, and relievingsuch aggregate from all restraint as to shape prior to its entrance intothe mold.

5. The method of molding brick-shapes andthe like, characterized byconfining a mold-charge, allowing the mold-charge to fall while stillconfined, releasing the moldcharge from its confinement while in courseof descent, and arresting the mold-charge in a mold.

6. The method of molding brick-shapes and the like, characterized byconfining a mold-charge, allowing the mold-charge to fall while stillconfined, releasing the moldcharge from its confinement withoutsubstantially altering its acceleration while in course of descent, andarresting the mold-' charge in a mold.

7. Thatprocess of forming molded shapes which comprises confining a.mold-charge within an openable container, projecting by the charge isejected from the container and permitted while unrestrained to enter themold.

8. That method of forming molded shapes which comprises placing amold-charge within an open-able container, impelling such contemer .wlthits charge at a constantly accelerated velocity toward an open mold,

opening. said. container while it, with the charge therein, areaccelerating uniformly and are relatively at rest, and arrestlng themovement of the container at a determinate distance from the mold.

same velocity, and suddenly arresting the 2O movement of the containerat a determined distance firom the mold.

Signed by me at Boston, Massachusetts, this seventh day of February,1922.

CHARLES nNoRroN.

